THEN - rent, phone bills, car, etc. The point is that your retirement savings gets done BEFORE you decide what place to live, what car to drive, and what phone to get. Money that's left AFTER you are saving for retirement is what you live on.
Your Mom did not lose "practically all her money" in an IRA. She is either exaggerating or has no clue. Her whining is an excuse for poor savings and investing habits. NO ONE lost "practically all" their money unless they invested with Bernie Madoff.
Worry about an IRA later, after building up an emergency fund. However, if you do get a position that offers matching on 401K - then you should contribute. That is free money - never say no to free money - that can be transferred to a different account if you change jobs.
Dave Ramsey says create an emergency fund and later on..... then a Roth IRA.
step 1: get 5 months of your income in savings
nothing else is more important than that,,, nothing
I'm 23, about to finish college.
Should I start it as soon as possible whether or not I find a longterm job?
Or wait until I have enough savings/ and or a long term job? I don't feel that I have much savings to set aside some for an IRA. I have to pay rent, phone bills, car..etc. and have an emergency fund.
I don't know if the job I end up with first is going to provide a 401k.
I want to start as soon as possible but IRAs are risky right? My mom apparently lost practically all of her money in her IRA (I hope she was exaggerating).
